Chef John's Falafel
Unlike most of America's other favorite fast foods, falafel is rarely attempted at home, which is a shame, since it's very simple to do, and even a relative novice like me can get some very decent results. One word of warning: you do need to know you're going to have a craving for this a full day before you actually want to eat it.
Servings per recipe: 6
Calories per serving: 271
Preparation time: 20m
Total cooking time: 12h 30m
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry garbanzo beans
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, or more as needed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- oil for frying
Directions:
- 1 Place garbanzo beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 12 to 24 hours. Drain.
- 2 Blend garbanzo beans, onion, parsley, garlic, flour, lemon juice, salt, cumin, coriander, baking soda, and cayenne pepper together in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until mixture is finely ground and holds together when pressed. Transfer garbanzo mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until flavors blend, 1 to 2 hours.
- 3 Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- 4 Divide dough into 12 portions and roll each with moistened hands into a ball.
- 5 Working in batches, cook falafel balls in hot oil until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to drain.
Nutrion facts:
| Total Fat | 16.9g | 26% |
| Saturated Fat | 2.0g | |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | |
| Sodium | 646mg | 26% |
| Potassium | 366mg | 10% |
| Total Carbohydrates | 24.4g | 8% |
| Dietary Fiber | 6.5g | 26% |
| Protein | 7.1g | 14% |
| Sugars | 4g | |
| Vitamin A | 465IU | |
| Vitamin C | 11mg | |
| Calcium | 55mg | |
| Iron | 3mg | |
| Thiamin | 0mg | |
| Niacin | 2mg | |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | |
| Magnesium | 45mg | |
| Folate | 200mcg |
